For the first time since early October, Wild coach Mike Yeo will have a full, healthy roster at his disposal when the Wild continue their stretch run Monday in St. Paul against the Calgary Flames.

Injured captain Mikko Koivu and defenseman Marco Scandella both said they feel good enough to play and will leave the rest up to Yeo and his staff.

While Yeo said he won’t make decisions on his roster until Monday, both Koivu and Scandella participated in a full practice Sunday and appear set to return.

“It’s important for a lot of reasons,” Yeo said. “If Mikko comes back, we’ve got a lot of lines that can go out there and create offense for us and be effective defensively and bring momentum to our team. Same thing on defense. (There’s a) trickle-down effect right through all areas of your game, from the special teams to your 5-on-5 play. We’re excited.”

When Koivu returns, it appears he won’t be playing next to Zach Parise consistently for the first since Parise signed with Minnesota in 2012.

Instead, Yeo left Mikael Granlund centering the top line with Parise and Pominville at practice. Koivu slotted on the second line with Dany Heatley and Charlie Coyle.

“It’s the coaches who make the decisions, and (for) players, it’s our job to create chemistry with different players,” Koivu said. “Injuries are a part of the game and you’re going to have different guys and different lines. I think with Heatley it would be easy because we’ve played a lot of games together and (same) with Charlie. I think it’s a matter of time more for myself to get on their speed of the game so I can help them out.”

Koivu hasn’t played since Jan. 4 and underwent ankle surgery two days later. Scandella has been out since Feb. 4 with a sprained knee.

He could have played when the Wild returned to the ice last Thursday, but coaches opted to make sure he was fully recovered.

Scandella said Sunday that he is healthy again and left a decision on his return, which appeared likely, to coaches.

“It’s up to them,” he said. “I felt like I had a good practice today and I’ve been on the ice for a little while so I’m starting to get moving good now and I’m adjusted to the brace that I’m using. I feel great.”

The return of two top players, while obviously welcome, creates major decisions for coaches.

Up front, Coyle will move from center to the wing, Nino Niederreiter will move to the third line and Justin Fontaine to the fourth line, with Stephane Veilleux coming out of the lineup.

On the back end, either Keith Ballard or Clayton Stoner would sit if Scandella returns.

“It’s all about our team and finally getting Mikko back gives us a chance to get to our team back,” Yeo said. “And with that we feel we have more balance through our forward lines and our defensive pairings.”

Without Koivu in the lineup, the Wild have found ways to be successful, going 11-4-2 and 13-4-2 since Jan. 1.

That’s largely because of contributions from the team’s young players, including Granlund, Niederreiter and goalie Darcy Kuemper.

But now, with the return of Koivu and Scandella imminent, the Wild will be adding two top-end talents to a deeper lineup.

“We always talk about the depth on the team. It’s so important in this league,” Koivu said. ” … The amount of time for these kids to grow up … it didn’t happen overnight, but this year has been unbelievable for them. It’s a huge step for this team and this organization.”

Chad Graff joined the Pioneer Press in April of 2013 -- long enough to cover three straight Wild playoff exits at the hands of the Blackhawks -- after working for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Boston Globe. He's lived in California and Texas, but most recently spent a decade in New Hampshire. He watched New England fans celebrate seven championships in his time there, yet somehow his only sports allegiance lies with Nebraska football.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Sports

Glen Perkins’ 16-month comeback odyssey reached fruition Thursday afternoon as the decorated Twins reliever trotted in from the bullpen to pitch the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians with a four-run deficit. It hardly mattered to Perkins, activated off the 60-day disabled list for his first big-league outing since April 10, 2016, that he was being eased back into the...

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck spent eight minutes breaking down why he declared Thursday that both Demry Croft and Conor Rhoda will play in the season opener against Buffalo on Aug. 31. Whether the sophomore Croft or the senior Rhoda takes the first snap at TCF Bank Stadium will be inconsequential, Fleck said, and despite how one of them performs...

Max Kepler made up for his embarrassing miscue in memorable fashion. Shortly after his slip on the slick outfield grass allowed the tying run to score in Thursday’s doubleheader nightcap, Kepler cracked his 15th homer to lift the Twins to a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Target Field. That seventh-inning turnabout ended a 10-game home losing streak against...

Stephane Veilleux plopped down at a local Caribou Coffee last week and the memories of his near decade-long career with the Minnesota Wild came flooding back. He smiled when he talked about getting picked in the third round of the 2001 NHL Draft. That smile grew as he described his first career goal, which he proudly noted came against legendary...

St. Croix Central won’t forget last year’s surprising run to the Division 4 state title. The Panthers went 4-3 in Middle Border Conference play – the minimum conference record required to advance to the postseason – before going on a five-game tear through the playoffs. The run included a 21-14 upset win over Osceola, the MBC champion, and a last-second semifinal...